Emotional distress among Catalans has decreased, but one in five suffers from anxiety.

BarcelonaAfter several years marked by the pandemic, which exacerbated emotional distress and triggered mental health disorders in many Catalans, the Catalan Health Survey (ESCA), with data from 2024, confirms a decrease in this problem. While in 2022, 11% of the population over 15 years of age reported having symptoms consistent with depression or experiencing intense emotional distress, this percentage has now been halved (5.8%). For the first time, the ESCA has specifically measured anxiety, revealing that 7.5% of the adult population reports experiencing moderate or severe symptoms. This physical response is more common in women than in men. Regarding the prevalence of moderate or severe depression, the report indicates a significant decrease compared to 2022, falling from approximately 11% of the adult population to 5.8%. The latest ESCA report indicates a significant improvement in emotional well-being, with the population's mental health trending positively. Furthermore, the report reflects that more adults feel they have a supportive environment to rely on during difficult times. However, disparities across genders, ages, and socioeconomic conditions serve as a reminder that there is still progress to be made. According to this report, only one in ten adults experiences low emotional well-being. Broken down by gender, 6.9% of men and 13.1% of women report experiencing psychological distress, which arises in response to difficult, intense, or unpleasant emotions that they struggle to manage. These figures represent an improvement compared to the 2022 ESCA report, when nearly one in three women (27.4%) and one in five men (20.4%) reported emotional distress. However, people aged 74 and over, especially women, as well as those from less privileged social classes and with or without primary education, continue to show lower levels of well-being.

Improves mental health in children

Among children aged 4 to 14, mental health problems have also decreased and currently stand at 5.7%. However, inequalities persist: children from low-income families or with parents who have only primary education or no schooling have a higher prevalence of mental health problems than those with university-educated parents. Other data from the survey confirm that sedentary leisure activities remain significant among children. 42.6% of boys and 36.4% of girls spend more than two hours a day in front of a screen Whether it's mobile phones, television, computers, or video games, screen time is a practice that is also more frequent among the most disadvantaged social groups. Even so, the figures are lower than during the pandemic years, when this habit peaked: 52.7% of boys in the 2020-2021 period and 41.7% of girls between 2019 and 2020. Regarding health, half have taken some medication in the last 15 days. Specifically, 78% of the population considers their health to be good or very good—82.4% of men and 74.9% of women—although 42% suffer from some chronic problem, with a greater impact on women, the elderly, and, again, less privileged social classes. The report also reveals that half of the population aged 18 to 74 (52.4%) is overweight: specifically, 36.1% are overweight and 16.3% are obese.

ESCA data shows encouraging signs regarding the stigma surrounding mental health, which appears to be decreasing. More and more people are maintaining close relationships with someone who suffers from an emotional disorder, and over 95% of the population has taken the step of consulting a mental health professional in the last twelve months, particularly young people and those over 74.